Thursday, December 10, 2009

An Interview with Adrianne Brennan

Today’s second interview is with the wonderful Adrianne Brennan. Welcome, Adrianne, to XtraOrdinary Romance.

At what age did you realize you wanted to be a writer?

I was ten, and it began with a school writing assignment and turned into me writing a sci-fi comedy about sentient vegetables in outer space. From that point on, I was hooked--no turning back! :D

What has been your biggest influence on becoming a writer?

I'm a big reader--always have been! I grew up reading books and always loved to read. Between that and the right encouragement once I started writing from a certain English teacher in high school, writing became my destiny.

How did you feel when you got your first publishing contract?

Ecstatic! I couldn't believe it. I was in a state of non-stop bliss and squee! Seven more books have been published since, and that feeling hasn't gone away. I don't think it ever will!

How many novellas/novels have you published to date? When did you have your first sale?

1 novel, 1 novella, 1 short story and 5 chapter length books. My first sale was on Oct 31, 2007 when my first book was released.

Tell me about your latest release.

Dawn of the Seraphs is a m/m short story. It's a paranormal/scifi/erotic romance about two men struggling to get along in a complex world. Intrigue, psychic abilities, and conspiracies make a nice backdrop for the sexual tension between them. :)

It's part of the Immortal Fire series, and currently out in ebook. Around the holidays the series will be sold as a single print volume.

And yes, it WILL have a sequel. :D

What was your inspiration for this book?

To be honest, there's a particular favorite guilty pairing of mine on a science fiction show which inspired the relationship between these two men! I was also highly inspired by various other tv shows such as Babylon 5 and Torchwood.

How do you categorize yourself: pantser or plotter?

Um...yes? :D I plan a little, plot a little...but I really dive in once I'm able to daydream everything out and see where it goes!

How do you handle the editing/revision process?

With great humility and a good sense of humor. :D It's a learning process, and I gain absolutely nothing if there's not a ton of red ink on my manuscripts!

You’re received some fantastic reviews...how do you feel about them and why?

Over the moon. I never imagined people would enjoy my works this much! Thank you. Without readers, I'd have nowhere to go for my books.

Did anything odd happen while you were researching this story?

I can't really say I did any research for this one, but it's the one I finished the most amount of words in within the shortest amount of time. My muse chained me to my computer and had me produce 12.5k in three days! :D

If you could time travel, where would you go?

Ancient Greece, definitely!

Why are your stories unique?

A lot of them tend to feature real pagan religions and actual references to existing occult and magical groups, traditions, and organizations. I don't think many authors do that; for starters, it's most certainly not mainstream and for another, it's a tad gusty. But they always say to write about what you know, and I've been a pagan for more than half my life. :)

Share a little bit of the ‘real’ you with our readers. What do you do besides writing? Any hobbies? Dark secrets?

I like to knit, watch anime, play RPGs, and travel. I'm also a huge scifi and fantasy geek. :D

What is the biggest piece of your advice you can give a beginning writer?

Keep writing and never, ever give up. I can't tell you how many excellent writers whom I know scrap perfectly good works because they don't believe in themselves and think what they're writing isn't good enough. It makes me want to cry to see it, especially when I know better!

And don't worry about being perfect. You will never be perfect. Always be open to learning how to write better, and look upon edits as a good thing, an opportunity to grow and polish your skills. They are invaluable.

Do you have another career besides writing? What is it?

I work as a software engineer. I may never see a royalty statement which would cover even one month's mortgage, so it'll have to do for now. ;)

Adrianne’s Bio: Adrianne Brennan stumbled into her love of writing by accident at the tender age of ten when she was given a creative writing assignment for her science class. The end result was her writing a brief science fiction comedy featuring numerous puns regarding vegetables. Once the writing bug bit, it bit pretty hard, and from the age of fourteen onwards she worked on a lengthy fantasy novel.

At this time, this fantasy novel is still a work in progress as she continues to focus on her other stories. Currently in addition to other works available are the Dark Moon series, including her award-winning novel, Blood of the Dark Moon featuring vampires, magick, secret societies, and romance as well as her novella in the same series, Blood and Mint Chocolates as well as The Oath, a BDSM.

Adrianne's works were previously published through Aphrodite's Apples Press and are now available from Freya's Bower and Love You Divine. In addition, she is a member of EPIC, Infinite Worlds of Fantasy Authors, the Midnight Seductions Authors group, and is an alumnus member of Kappa Gamma Psi, a co-ed national professional performing arts fraternity.

An avid reader, Adrianne has been most influenced by various science fiction and fantasy authors including Madeleine L'Engle, Roger Zelazny, Laurell K. Hamilton, LA Banks, Yasmine Galenorn, Michael Ende, Neil Gaiman, and Alan Moore. Like her main character from Blood of the Dark Moon, she professes a love for Iamblichus and Greek philosophy.

Thanks for taking part in my 2 for Thursday promotion. I really enjoyed it!

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Writing Quote

Creativity is a combination of discipline and childlike spirit. ~ Robert Greene